Winning her back

21. The Sister

Ben

They say the best way to cure a hangover, is to keep drinking the next day. I wondered if the same was said for a grieving heart. I decided to test the notion with a double shot of Jameson at 8am. I mean why not? I had nothing else to lose; except for my job. I had maxed out all my vacation leave and sick leave to care for Lisa. There was no doubt that I'd be getting a phone call to explain my absence in the following days. With Lisa now gone, I had absolutely no excuse as to why I hadn't returned to work.

And even though I had put all my sweat and tears trying to get into orthopeadics, right now, I couldn't care less.

Minutes felt like hours as I kept replaying the last two years in my mind. My thoughts dated back to unwanted events and memories. Memories that I had purposely pushed far back in my mind, in hopes that they wouldn't resurface. However, there was always one that threatened to resurface, one that I knew would haunt me forever.

"You don't think you'll be back by 9pm?", I questioned, holding the phone close to my ear.

I heard her sigh on the other end of the line.

"I doubt it, I need to cover someone else's shift, I probably won't be done till midnight".

"It's a Sunday Lis", I pleaded.

"I know, I know, but you know what it's like to be an intern".

I couldn't argue with that. Not too long ago, I was in her shoes, struggling to make ends meet whilst trying to keep a happy wife. Lisa's parents had cut her off completely, financially too. And although my parents offered to help us out, we wanted to build a life on our own. However, it wasn't as easy as we had thought.

I guess I had assumed that once my internship would be over, me and Lisa would finally be able to live a normal life. A life where we actually had time for each other. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled when she expressed her interest in joining the obstetrics and gynecology internship. It would mean another couple of years of struggles and long nights. But I couldn't shut down her dream career. After all, she had supported me throughout my entire journey, and I was set on the idea of supporting her too.

"I'll be home as soon as I can ok? I love you".

"I love you too", I said as she hung up the phone.

I glanced at the candle lit dinner table, set up with all her favourite food and nibbles. I sighed internally and began to clear up the table, carefully packaging the food in hopes that it wouldn't turn bad for the next day.

The sound of the doorbell ringing halted my movements. I was curious to see who'd be crazy enough to be outside, considering it was a hail storm. I shrugged it off as some kids probably playing some pranks.

Not even a minute later, the doorbell rang again. This time, I approached the door and looked through the peep hole. At first glance, I thought it was Lisa, with water dripping down her blonde locks. I quickly opened the door ready to welcome my wife, only to find her sister standing before me.

"Torvi?", I questioned.

She looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see her.

"Ben", she began. "Is my sister home?".

She was absolutely soaked. Make up was running down her face. I wasn't sure if it was because of the rain ... or because she had previously been crying.

"She'll be here soon. Jesus Torvi, let's get you inside". I opened the door further to let her in.

"So uh, you dyed your hair", I said awkwardly whilst looking for some dry towels.